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Background: Individuals with impaired fat taste (FT) sensitivity have reduced satiety responses after consuming fatty foods, leading to increased dietary fat intake. Habitual consumption of dietary fat may modulate sensitivity to FT, with high consumption decreasing sensitivity [increasing fatty acid taste threshold (FATT)] and low consumption increasing sensitivity (decreasing FATT). However, some individuals may be less susceptible to diet-mediated changes in FATT due to variations in gene expression. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of an 8-wk low-fat or high-fat diet on FATT while maintaining baseline weight (<2.0 kg variation) to assess heritability and to explore the effect of genetics on diet-mediated changes in FATT. Design: A co-twin randomized controlled trial including 44 pairs (mean ± SD age: 43.7 ± 15.4 y; 34 monozygotic, 10 dizygotic; 33 women, 10 men, 1 gender-discordant) was conducted. Twins within a pair were randomly allocated to an 8-wk low-fat (<20% of energy from fat) or high-fat (>35% of energy from fat) diet. FATT was assessed by a 3-alternate forced choice methodology and transformed to an ordinal scale (FT rank) at baseline and at 4 and 8 wk. Linear mixed models were fit to assess diet effect on FT rank and diet effect modification due to zygosity. A variance components model was fit to calculate baseline heritability. Results: There was a significant time x diet interaction for FT rank after the 8-wk trial (P < 0.001), with the same conclusions for the subset of participants maintaining baseline weight (low-fat; n = 32; high-fat: n = 35). There was no evidence of zygosity effect modification (interaction of time x diet x zygosity: P = 0.892). Heritability of baseline FT rank was 8%. Conclusions: There appears to be little to no genetic contribution on heritability of FATT or diet-mediated changes to FATT. Rather, environment, specifically dietary fat intake, is the main influencer of FT sensitivity, regardless of body weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Interpersonal Psychological Theory of suicide proposes that the interaction between Thwarted Belongingness, Perceived Burdensomeness, and Acquired Capability for Suicide (ACS) predicts proximal risk of death by suicide. Instruments to assess all three constructs are available. However, research on the validity of one of them, the acquired capability for suicide scale (ACSS), has been limited, especially in terms of its clinical relevance. This study aimed to explore the utility of the different versions of the ACSS in clinical assessment. Three versions of the scale were investigated, the full 20-item version, a 7-item version and a single item version representing self-perceived capability for suicide. In a sample of patients recruited from a clinic specialising in the treatment of suicidality and in a community sample, all versions of the ACSS were found to show reasonable levels of reliability and to correlate as expected with reports of suicidal ideation, self-harm, and attempted suicide. The item assessing self-perceived acquired capacity for suicide showed highest correlations with all levels of suicidal behaviour. However, no version of the ACSS on its own showed a capacity to indicate suicide attempts in the combined sample. It is concluded that the versions of the scale have construct validity, but their clinical utility is limited. An assessment using a single item on self-perceived ACS outperforms the full and shortened versions of ACSS in clinical settings and can be recommended with caution for clinicians interested in assessing this characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective. The aim of the present study was to describe the Ambulance Victoria (AV) secondary telephone triage service, called the Referral Service (RS), for low-priority patients calling triple zero. This service provides alternatives to ambulance dispatch, such as doctor or nurse home visits. Methods. A descriptive epidemiological review of all the cases managed between 2009 and 2012 was conducted, using data from AV case records, the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Cases were reviewed for patient demographics, condition, final disposition and RS outcome. Results. In all, 107 148 cases were included in the study, accounting for 10.3% of the total calls for ambulance attendance. Median patient age was 54 years and 55% were female. Geographically based socioeconomic status was associated with the rate of calls to the RS (r = -0.72; 95% confidence interval CI -0.104, -0.049; P < 0.001). Abdominal pain and back symptoms were the most common patient problems. Although 68% of patients were referred to the emergency department, only 27.6% of the total cases were by emergency ambulance; the remainder were diverted to non-emergency ambulance or the patient'sownprivate transport. The remaining32%of cases were referred to alternative service providers or given home care advice. Conclusions. This paper describes the use of an ongoing secondary triage service, providing an effective strategy for managing emergency ambulance demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine if the Garmin Vector (Schaffhausen, Switzerland) power meter produced acceptable measures when compared with the Schoberer Rad Messetechnik (SRM; Julich, Germany) power meter across a range of high-intensity efforts. Twenty-one well-trained cyclists completed power profiles (seven maximal mean efforts between 5 and 600 s) using Vector and SRM power meters. Data were compared using assessments of heteroscedasticity,ttests, linear regression, and typical error of estimate (TEE). The data were heteroscedastic, whereby the Vector pedals increasingly overestimated values at higher power outputs; however,ttests did not identify any significant differences between power meters (p > .05). Using linear regression, Vector data were fit to an SRM equivalent (slope = .99; intercept = −9.87) and TEE produced by this equation was 3.3% (3.0%–3.8%). While the data shows slight heteroscedasticity due to differing strain-gauge placement and resultant torque measurement variance, the Vector appears acceptable for measures of power output across various cycling efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Sitting time questionnaires have largely been validated in small convenience samples. The validity of this multi-context sitting questionnaire against an accurate measure of sitting time is reported in a large demographically diverse sample allowing assessment of validity in varied demographic subgroups. Methods: A subgroup of participants of the third wave of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity, and Lifestyle (AusDiab3) study wore activPAL3™ monitors (7 days, 24 hours/day protocol) and reported their sitting time for work, travel, television viewing, leisure computer use and "other" purposes, on weekdays and weekend days (n = 700, age 36-89 years, 45 % men). Correlations (Pearson's r; Spearman's p) of the self-report measures (the composite total, contextual measures and items) with monitor-assessed sitting time were assessed in the whole sample and separately in socio-demographic subgroups. Agreement was assessed using Bland-Altman plots. Results: The composite total had a correlation with monitor-assessed sitting time of r = 0.46 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.40, 0.52); this correlation did not vary significantly between demographic subgroups (all >0.4). The contextual measure most strongly correlated with monitor-assessed sitting time was work (p = 0.25, 95 % CI: 0.17, 0.31), followed by television viewing (p = 0.16, 95 % CI: 0.09, 0.24). Agreement of the composite total with monitored sitting time was poor, with a positive bias (B = 0.53, SE 0.04, p < 0.001) and wide limits of agreement (±4.32 h). Conclusions: This multi-context questionnaire provides a total sitting time measure that ranks participants well for the purposes of assessing health associations but has limited accuracy relative to activPAL-assessed sitting time. Findings did not differ in demographic subgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Coping skills contribute to positive parenting and children's healthy adaptation to everyday experiences. This study evaluated the utility of a new group-based universal social emotional parenting programme, Families Coping (previously named Parents Can Do Coping). This programme has the twin aims of teaching communication and coping skills to parents within a positive parenting framework. Method The participant group comprised 14 parents of preschoolers in an early learning centre located in the inner-metropolitan Melbourne area. Parents were provided with effective communication skills, developed an understanding of their own coping and that of their children, and learnt how to actively engage their child in shared conversations about coping. To assess change, a mixed-methods design was employed, where parents completed pre- and-post-programme paper and pencil surveys and open-ended responses. Results Results showed a number of statistically significant changes in parents' coping skills. Specifically, parents reported greater use of productive coping and a concurrent reduction in non-productive coping strategies. Despite there being no statistically significant change in child coping or parent and child well-being, written responses indicated that most parents perceived a trend towards the development of more positive parenting practices and use of productive coping by their child, as well as some aspect of improvement in both parent and child well-being. Conclusions There is benefit in incorporating parent and child coping skills into a universal positive parenting programme for preschool-aged children. Findings are considered in view of methodological strengths and shortcomings, as well as the value of Families Coping as an addition to the pool of programmes currently available to parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]